Apparently, in the last few days, over zealous Republican campaigners have stepped over the line again. If you recall, there were Republican signs on a tree in township property — the Swedesford Road Open Space Park. Within hours of my post on those signs, the township staff quickly removed them. We have a new problem as reported by Ray Clarke, Board of Director member for Open Land Conservancy of Chester County.
The George Lorimer Preserve is beautiful 88 acres of meadows, ponds, stream and trail system that has managed to provide wildlife in a wonderful rural setting. How sad that this nature preserve in Malvern is marred by political signs! Open Land Conservancy is a nonprofit organization and does not have the people nor the equipment to remove these signs.
I certainly hope that the local Republican Party will have these signs down tomorrow! So sad! Here is Ray’s note — thank you for providing the photo and here’s hoping that the signs, like Election Day 2010, are a memory tomorrow!
OK, those trespassing republican tree climbers are at it again.This time a trio of signs listing republican candidates are stapled on a tree in Open Land Conservancy’s Lorimer Nature Preserve. Now, we don’t have the resources to get ladders and remove the signs, so I’m hoping that the republican officials who read this this site will have them removed forthwith.
What are they thinking? In a Nature Preserve?
~ Ray Clarke, Open Land Conservancy of Chester County
Treat the signs as they are – litter, and fine them.
How did some idiot get up there? That does not look like a climable tree and all the brush around the base looks like it would prevent a ladder…
That is ashame!
how the heck did the person get up there?
Coming from you a Kampf supporter, I’m surprised…
Not sure why you are surprised… or what your surprise implies.
I am a proud dues-paying member of the Chester County Conservancy. I was recruited to join by the Late (and great) Neil McAloon. Not to do a commercial for them but they are VERY good organization…
My kids, every year, go on their “Tracks and Trails” program walk…
Thanks, Sean, for your support! Open Land Conservancy misses Neil every day.
Others here have suggested that maybe the Dems put up the signs; possible indeed, but that (and the earlier signs on Township Open Space trees?) implies a level of deviousness and organization that beggars my belief. Regardless of the culprits, if you have any influence to get the signs taken down, that would be great.
“Tracks and Trails” is a great program led by Dr. Jack Chidester in the OLC’s Cedar Hollow Preserve. Everyone should look for it next February!
seems like there are signs on public spaces, like on the median of roads. Is that “legal” too?
Yes signs are allowed along public thoroughfares, etc… Although this time there were way too many.
Is this what we’ll have to endure from now on with each election? Some of the medians & roads are littered with so many signs you can hardly find the grass.
Pattye,
How do you know the Republicans put those signs there? I remember joking more than 10 years ago with some fellow campaign staff folks that a good dirty trick to screw your opponent would be to nail his signs to trees. We never did it, but it looks like someone with an axe to grind did so in this case.
No supporter of a candidate would ever put his or her sign up on a tree, because they know that it would only antagonize voters against their candidate. That is so obvious that I am surprised you fell for that ruse.
In the future, please consider who has the most to gain before assigning the blame. In this case, those who support the opponents of the candidates whose names appear on the tree, gain more by pissing off voters, and thus, they should be considered to be prime suspects.
No, I don’t know that the Republicans put the signs in the Lorimer Nature Preserve. Unfortunately, the Open Land Conservancy, a nonprofit organization is stuck with the signs and no equipment to remove them. Guess because I’m not very good at ‘political games’ – I assumed that since they were Republican signs it was probably Republicans who put the signs in the nature preserve. Regardless of who ‘defaced’ the property – it’s wrong and someone needs to help with getting them down.
Mr. Roboto –
What a ridiculous assertion. A grand conspiracy no doubt cooked up by the TTDems to post some republican campaign signs up high in a tree in an inconspicuous nature preserve in hopes of attracting the ire of a passing nature lover and cause them to vote against those republicans whose signs are staring down on them???
You have officially gone over the deep end.
Dōmo arigatō.
Is it your assertion that the Republicans decided to post as you state in your reply:
“some signs up high in a tree in an inconspicuous nature preserve in the hopes of attracting. . .” votes?
Obviously the remoteness of the location is further proof that a supporter of these candidates did not post the signs. Because even if someone was dumb enough to believe that tacking a sign to a tree would help get votes for the peron whose name appears on that sign, they would not pick such an out of the way place to put those signs.
Given that: (1) it is obvious that a sign on the tree can only hurt the candidate whose name is on that sign; and, given (2) the remoteness of the location, it seems fairly obvious that those signs would not have been placed there by GOP supporters.
Rather, the signs were posted by those who support the opponents in order to tick off those who run the nature preserve. Ray Clarke’s complaint was picked up by Pattye Benson, who in turn declares on her Blog that it was the work of “over zealous Republican campaigners [who] have stepped over the line again.”
I am glad to see that in his reply, Ray Clarke recognizes the possibility that the signs could have been posted by opposition supporters. Afterall, they were the only ones who could benefit from this “Conservatory Controversy.”
Republican signs are defacing Open Land Conservancy property — I don’t CARE whether it was Republicans or Democrats that put the signs on the tree. The POINT is the Republican political signs are on private property and need to come down. Instead of speculating that Ray and I assumed incorrectly that it was Republicans who were responsible, why not help in getting the signs down and out of the conservancy. If I had the equipment, I’d take them down myself.
According to committee members that I spoke with yesterday (Rep & Dem) it is the general agreement that political signs should be down within 48 hours of the election. By my calculations, that would be by 8 PM tonight (Thursday). I hope that information is accurate and political signs will disappear (and yes, both parties signs & including the ones in the nature preserve).
My assertion is that your baseless speculation is absurd. The remoteness of the location proves nothing other than the person who hung the signs wasn’t very bright – but we already agreed on that simply by the “tacking” on trees on private property….
The fair assumption regarding the placement of a political sign is that the candidate/party it supports probably placed them there. Without any true evidence to the contrary this remains the rational conclusion.
I agree with Pattye, it would just be nice to see someone take responsibility and have them removed. You can be sure that if it were my name on the signs, conspiracy by the Dems or not, i would have them down very quickly. Maybe someone could let Gerlach’s campaign know that they are there.
The R’s in the area DID put signs up in a Township park recently too, so it’s not a complete stretch of the imagination that it would be done again.
Unless of course that was a conspiracy too…
I hesitate to weigh in on an obvious attempt by a disgruntled Republican to continue stirring up trouble. Whoever you are, you’re pathetic. Really.
I drive by the Lorimar Preserve daily, but I have no idea where these signs are located. From what I understand, they are high enough in the tree that the culprit would have used a large extension ladder – something that doesn’t fit into a car or SUV. The culprit probably had access to a pick-up truck, knew something about the preserve, and did the dirty deed at a time when he was unlikely to get caught – after dark bc people are apt to visit the preserve at any time from dawn to dusk….
As a member of the TTDEMS, I know this act of vandalism was not perpetrated by a member of our party. We’re all committed tree-huggers, remember?
As to the suggestion that it was done to anger Republcans who walk in the preserve and get them to vote Democratic, that is laughable!
But I’d bet the ranch that the person who nailed the Republican signs in Twp open land on Swedesford Rd. is also responsible for the same act in the Lorimar Preserve.
And the troublemaker(s) on this blog know that.. I’m guessing they know exactly who did this, and its pupose is to stir the pot and perpetuate the partisan rancor.
Your little plot has failed.
Get a life!
You should have hesitated more
I stated it last time and will state it again. If you see sign where it should not be, don’t call the township, don’t call the local committee, don’t post the removal request to a blog. Call the candidate whose name is on the sign and ask them to have to removed. The buck stops there.
Just FYI, a voicemail was left at Gerlach’s office before I posted the comment to CM. Hopefully I won’t have to waste more time and chase the others as well.
Is this really the discussion we move to now that the candidate battles are settled? Which wicked party put up signs on trees and why? Tell me that grown-ups are not involved….please. And tell me that you all are not going to bicker about what the intent was, why Ray reported it, why Pattye reported it, and why the party of the signs is important?
Signs on trees – Bad. Signs out of reach. Bad. Debating the motive — Priceless.
so if we have to let Gerlach’s campaign know they are there, then maybe they don’t know it is there and maybe someone who put it there is not intimately or otherwise associated with the campaign? This is really alot about nothing. People, remove the signs.. where ever they may be
Where is Perry Mason when you need him?
“The case of the misbegotten signs” Della!!!
We couldn’t put up with the signs any longer, so this afternoon Art Blumenthal clambered up in the bed of his ATV and was just able to pull them down from the tree.
I would have thought that those whose names were plastered in a tree in a nature preserve would have wanted the intrusion to be removed, even if they didn’t put them there (!), but it seems they just didn’t care.
This is really sad that Open Land Conservancy Board members had to take down the campaign signs because those responsible could bother! BTW, I emailed Dariel Jamieson (chair of TTDEMS) and Mike Broadhurst (chair of TTGOP) and copied Mimi Gleason and the Board of Supervisors, requesting that all political campaign signs in the township be taken down by Tuesday, November 9, which is 7 days post-election. I cited the township’s zoning ordinance which states the 7 day requirement. I immediately heard back from Dariel that she would be doing a final run last night to remove any remaining Democrat signs. Here’s hoping that the Republicans do likewise. I also mentioned the red & white Metcalfe signs have been up since April, pre-Primary and they too need to be removed. Come Wednesday, November 10, residents should look forward to a landscape free of campaign signs.
You say “I would have thought that those whose names were plastered in a tree in a nature preserve would have wanted the intrusion to be removed, even if they didn’t put them there (!), but it seems they just didn’t care.”
I think the failure to take down signs that you reported on this blog is not necessarily because they didn’t care….maybe they didn’t know — not sure Gerlach, Corbett or Toomey read this blog. I”m glad they are down, but I’m not sure finger pointing about who should take them down matters….any and every citizen should take them down. If the offending parties want the signs, they should come get them. I’ve picked up dozens of signs and put them in the trash.